North Korea is facing its worst famine in decades as Kim Jong-un obsesses over his nuclear program, it has been claimed.
Millions of North Koreans are believed to be suffering as a result of international sanctions and the drought currently crippling the country.
With most of the food going to the army, millions of ordinary people are struggling to eat every day, according to Japanese documentary maker Jiro Ishimaru who has a network of citizen journalists in the country.
North Korea (pictured in 2010) is facing its worst famine in decades as Kim Jong-un obsesses over his nuclear program, it has been claimed
Millions of North Koreans are believed to be suffering as a result of international sanctions and the drought currently crippling the country
Yesterday, North Korean state media showed Kim Jong-un (pictured) standing next to the diagram of an intercontinental ballistic missile
With most of the food going to the army, millions of ordinary people are struggling to eat every day. Pictured: : A North Korean long-range rocket is launched
‘For one thing, there are too many soldiers to feed,’ he told the Guardian, adding that the best food would still only be reserved for top officers.
He added: ‘Corruption is rife, so that by the time senior military officers have taken their share of food provisions to sell for profit on the private market, there is next to nothing left for ordinary soldiers.’
Yesterday, North Korean state media showed Kim standing next to the diagram of an intercontinental ballistic missile more powerful than any it has previously tested.
The image of the three-stage rocket known as the Hwasong-13 suggested he is fiercely pursuing the creation of a weapon capable of striking anywhere on the US mainland
It also follows a further escalation in the war of words between the country and US President Donald Trump.
‘For one thing, there are too many soldiers to feed,’ said Ishimaru, adding that the best food would still only be reserved for top officers
Recent images of Kim standing next to diagrams of a rocket follows a further escalation in the war of words between the country and US President Donald Trump. Pictured: North Korean farmers in 2012
North Korea has condemned the military drills (pictured) the US is conducting with the South
The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills in South Korea – which themselves are a response to the North’s nuclear tests – are largely computer-simulated
The country condemned the military drills the US is conducting with the South and branded Trump ‘weird’ and ‘ego-driven’, not long after Trump claimed Kim was starting to ‘respect’ him.
Kim also threatened to turn the US into ‘a heap of ashes’ in response to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills currently being held in South Korea.
In a special alert last month, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation the country’s ‘early-season crop production’ was down to a third of the level it was last year.
It added: ‘More rains are urgently needed to avoid significant decreases in the main 2017 cereal production season. Should drought conditions persist, the food security situation is likely to further deteriorate.’
Meanwhile sanctions have been imposed on North Korea aimed at slashing its annual export revenue of £2.3billion by a third.
But these penalties are expected to hit ordinary Koreans, from coal mine workers to fishermen.
The sanctions have been imposed on North Korea aimed at slashing its annual export revenue of £2.3billion by a third. Pictured: A missile is fired during the combined military exercise between the US and South Korea
North Korea has also branded Trump ‘weird’ and ‘ego-driven’, not long after Trump claimed Kim was starting to ‘respect’ him